HIGH Wycombe Town Clerk Bill Reid plans to stand down to spend more time with his family.

Mr Reid informed the Charter Trustees at their meeting on Tuesday of his intention to step aside in three months time after helping to pick his successor.

He has served as the town clerk for five years but now wants to travel and spend more time with his family.

He said: “I just felt it was a good time. In my head I always felt five years would be enough and we’ve just come through a busy period of civic events.

“It has been great fun, I have enjoyed it and we’ve done a lot of work with things such as the Freedom Parade and promoting the mayoralty in the Bucks Free Press and around the town.

“The kind words at the meeting were well received and I shall miss it but I still have a few irons in the fire with other organisations which I will continue doing – but it’s time to spend more time with my family.”

Mayor of High Wycombe Cllr Khalil Ahmed said he was “saddened” to be informed of the Town Clerk’s decision.

He said: “I’ve known him when I was a trustee and a councillor, but I’m saddened he has decided to stand down just a few weeks in to my mayoralty.

“I asked if there was anything I could do but he feels he has done his time, which he has.

"He’s served the town, the Charter Trustees and the Mayor extremely well over the years and will certainly be hard shoes to fill.”

Charter Trustees Cllr Tony Green and Cllr Chaudhary Shafique, one of the former mayors to work alongside Mr Reid, also paid their tributes.

Cllr Shafique told the meeting: “You have made a wonderful contribution to the office of the mayor and helped me greatly – it was an exceptionally enjoyable relationship.”